Bellum ingens in tenebris

Giant Timeline

This list begins with the founding of the village of Rome around 753 BCE and continues to the fall of Constantinople in 1453 CE. It is particularly detailed for the period from 58 BCE to 31 BCE (Julius Caesar to Caesar Augustus) and for 376 CE to 480 CE (the “fall” of the Western Roman Empire).

ROMANMONARCHY
1200 BCE Etruscans reached northern Italy
800-500 BCE Greeks established colonies throughout southern Italy
800 BCE Phoenicians established Carthage on the north coast of Africa
about 753 BCE village of Rome founded
600 BCE Rome was a province of Etruria
509 BCE Romans revolted against the Etruscan kings and created the system of government by the Senate and the AssemblyTHECONQUEST OF ITALY
494 BCE first disputes between patricians (wealthy landowners who controlled the Senate) and plebeians (ordinary citizens)
450 BCE “Law of the 12 Tables” provides written Roman law
390 BCE Gaulic invasion sacked Rome
282-272 BCE War with Pyrrhus
265 BCE Rome completed the occupation of the Italian peninsulaTHECONQUEST OF THEMEDITERRANEAN
264-241 BCE First war with Carthage (First Punic War)
238 BCE Conquest of Sardinia
229-228 BCE First Illyrian War (Balkans)
219 BCE Second Illyrian War
218-201 BCE Second Punic War (Hannibal crossed the Alps)
Hannibal leads the Carthage army to attack Italy. This becomes part of the Second Punic War.
215-205 BCE First Macedonian War
200-197 BCE Second Macedonian War
200-191 BCE Gaul invasion of northern Italy
192-189 BCE Syrian War
171-168 Third Macedonian War
149-148 BCE Fourth (and final) Macedonian War
149-146 BCE Third Punic War and final defeat of CarthageTHEEND OF THEROMANREPUBLIC
135-132 BCE First Servile War (slave revolt)
133 BCE Tiberius, the first senator to advocate land reform, was assassinated in 133 BCE by land-owners.
91-88 BCE The “Social War” (revolt by Roman allies in Italy)
88-84 BCE First Mithridatic War (Black Sea region)
88 BCE Sulla became the first Roman general to seize power
88-82 BCE Civil war in Rome
83-81 BCE Second Mithridatic War
79 BCE Sulla returned power to the Senate
74-64 BCE Third Mithridatic War
64 BCE Pompey captured Jerusalem
58 BCE Julius Caesar appointed governor of Gaul
58-51 BCE Julius Caesar’s army conquered Gaul
58-49 BCE To forestall another military revolt, the Senate yielded power to the First Triumvirate composed of Pompey, Crassus, and Julius Caesar
54 BCE Invasion of Britain
49-48 BCE Julius Caesar and Cleopatra (descendant of Ptolemy in Egypt) conceived a child
46-44 BCE Cleopatra lived at Julius Caesar’s estate in Rome
45 BCE Julius Caesar defeated Pompey and became the first dictator of Rome
Julius Caesar defeats Pompey in a civil war. He becomes the supreme ruler of Rome. This is the end of the Roman Republic. He hires Sosigenes, an Egyptian astronomer, to work out a new 12 month calendar.
44 BCE Julius Caesar assassinated on orders of the Senate
Julius Caesar is assassinated on the Ides of March by Marcus Brutus. They hope to bring back the republic, but civil war breaks out instead.
44-31 BCE The Second Triumvirate of Marc Antony, Lepidus, and Octavian (later known as Caesar Augustus) ruled Rome. Note that Octavian was the nephew of Julius Caesar, and brother-in-law of Marc Antony
42-30 BCE Cleopatra and Marc Antony had a relationship that lasted until their deaths
31 BCE Caesar Octavian defeated the combined forces of Cleopatra and Marc Antony in the naval battle of Actium (near Greece)
30 BCE First Roman governor of Egypt
31 BCE-14 CE Octavian became Caesar Augustus, the first emperorTHEROMANEMPIRE
14-36 CE Tiberius, stepson of Caesar Augustus, became emperor
36 CE The Present day